A/N- It's baaaaack! The indelible Mariano returns! This time with cookies...
Okay, no, Jess has no cookies. But that's because, as we all know, a perfect thing cannot exist in nature. And Jess + cookies (at least, if they were chocolate chip) would be too perfect for the space/time continuum to handle and it would implode, killing us all instantly. So that's the news from Lake Woebegone, folks: don't let Jess near cookies! Especially if he baked them himself!
Also, I'm just going to reuse the same world for Truncheon that I've created for Always, because I don't feel like completely recreating the Truncheon Boys' universe when I like the one I have so very, very much.
Deleted Scene #2
I Get a Sidekick Out of You
"With the light she disappeared
And set me in a whirl
And I hope that beautiful girl..."
-Slint
"Oh, who's that?" Lorelai asked, pointing at the picture.
"Um, that's me... with April," Rory confessed, feeling guilty.
Her mother's expression made the guilty feelings worse. "April? When did you meet April?"
Rory grimaced. This was another delicate topic. "Um, when I went to Philadelphia for Jess' open house," she said, wondering how the hell she was going to balance two uncomfortable conversations at once.
"Jess? Philadelphia? What am I missing here?" Lorelai exclaimed in her I'm-seeing-subtext tone of voice. Rory wished immediately that she had kept her mouth shut; she knew her mother always assumed that there was something going on when Jess was involved. Which was ridiculous, of course. She was over Jess, had been for a long time. Well, maybe not a long time, but she was! It wasn't her fault that Jess hadn't been as successful at burying- no, she berated herself, not burying, eliminating! She had eliminated her feelings. Burying implied that they were still there, somewhere, just hidden- his feelings.
"Nothing," she defended. "Jess' work had an open house, I was invited and I went. Luke showed up with April, it was a total fluke."
Lorelai still looked thrown. "I- God, I-I didn't know you were seeing Jess!" she said, still sounding a little strange with the topic.
"I'm not seeing him, we're just friends!" Rory insisted. 'Seeing' sounded a little too date-like for comfort. And maybe if she didn't look too closely, she wouldn't have to wonder why she read so much into what was probably casual, thoughtless word-choice.
But it reminded her of their agreement to try to be friends. A week had passed since they saw each other at the open house, and no word had come from Jess. She guessed it had been stupid to expect him to send the first email or text or letter or whatever. He had already made enough moves in their eternal chess game. Maybe it was her turn to open the door. Besides, if she was completely and totally honest with herself, she missed having conversations with him. It was time to do something about that. And so once Lorelai had gone to go get some more drinks, Rory pulled out her phone...
A week after their encounter, the first text message came. Jess had been stewing since the night of the open house. He was (sort of) okay with them being friends (because it gave him access to her). He was (kind of) okay with her dating the blonde dick (because he was fairly sure it wouldn't last). He was (partially) coming to terms with the events that had occurred at the open house (because from what she'd said, she hadn't come with the intent to use him). But it still hurt, and that still sucked, and he didn't want to be the one to make the first move again.
So he was grateful when she broke the silence. He received the text after the store was closed for the day, and he was crashing in the apartment, having declined Matthew, Chris, and Jacob's invitation to go see some indie film at a local theatre. He almost jumped out of his skin when his phone buzzed in his pocket.
Hi, thought it was about time for us to work on this friends thing, so here's me, contacting you. -Rory
He had replied back immediately. Hey. Here's me contacting you back. How'd you get my cell number? -J
Luke. He looked completely freaked out when I asked for your number. -Rory
Just imagining the expression on his uncle's face at the idea of renewed contact between Rory and himself was enough to bring a smil- er, smirk- to Jess' face. Was it that same look he gets when Kirk starts talking matter-of-factly about obscene things? -J
That's the one. -Rory
He cast around for something new to say. It was imperative that he keep the conversation going. He somehow knew that this first overture of friendship was critically important and they had to get this right if his half-formed hopes for the future had any chance at all of being realized someday. Finally, he settled for something so generic, he wanted to kick himself after sending it. So, what's up in the Hollow? -J
Lane's wedding is , weddings, actually. The town has been overrun with Koreans. -Rory
Jess chuckled, picturing a hundred Mrs. Kims terrorizing the citizens. Might not be a bad thing. So who's the lucky guy. (Or guys? Why multiple weddings?) -J
Zach Van Gerbig, the lead singer for their band. They had to have two weddings because Lane's grandma doesn't know they're Christian. -Rory
So they had a Buddhist wedding, too? -J
Yep. It was hysterical. They made Zach wear the Korean equivalent of a kimono. -Rory
I'd have paid cold hard cash to see that. Was he ticked? -J
He had about the same reaction to the dress as your step-father had to his "air-pants." -Rory
Oh dear god, please don't call TJ my step-father. It's bad enough having to occasionally talk to him... -J
He's not that bad, is he? -Rory
Yes he is. The man owns (and frequently uses) an Etch-a-Sketch. Not to mention the tights. -J
Well, Etch-a-Sketches are cool! But the tights... that is a little weird. He and Kirk should form a club. -Rory
So tell Lane congratulations for me. I bet Mrs. Kim is over the moon. -J
Surprisingly, yes. And as predicted, Hep Alien played their own reception. And speaking of Kirk, he fired all his bartenders. -Rory
Why? -J
Apparently one made eyes at his girlfriend and he got jealous. -Rory
I want you to reread that sentence and then lay off the crazy juice known as Stars Hollow well-water. -J
No, Kirk really does have a girlfriend. They've been going out for years. -Rory
I've officially heard everything. -J
So cynical! So jaded! -Rory
Any other highlights of the evening you feel like sharing? -J
Well, Kyon and Brian are making out at the table next to me. -Rory
Who's Kyon? -J
The Korean exchange student Mrs. Kim is hosting. -Rory
And Brian is the asthmatic guitarist, right? -J
That's the one. -Rory
Wow. And Mrs. Kim isn't bearing down on them with a Bible and a pitcher of holy water to dump on them? -J
Nope. She went to bed early and put in the good earplugs so she doesn't have to hear the goings-on. Apparently that's her wedding present. -Rory
Gotta give the woman credit for that, I guess. -J
You're a really slow texter, you know that? -Rory
Well that was out of the blue. -J
It's true, though. -Rory
It's not as though I practice this sort of thing. The only people I would ever bother to text either don't own cell phones, or live within two feet of me. -J
Makes sense. -Rory
A second later, a second text message from her came. Oh god, Mom's giving a horrifying drunken toast. I have to go! -Rory
And that was the end of that. Jess stared at his phone for a long minute, then sent one final message: Talk to you soon. -J
A/N2- I had issues with this chapter. The Driving Miss Gilmore chapter keeps wanting to be written, and I'm having a hard time getting THAT out of my head long enough to write something else.